Chapter 31: Chapter 31

VADA

I had an outgoing personality. Shyness wasn’t something I’d ever suffered from. But I was out of my element with my current company.

Nine women with a slew of babies and small children, and I turned into an awkward introvert, sitting in the corner alone.

The men and the older children were enjoying a movie night under the stars. They hired a drive-in on wheels. I had no idea something like that existed.

A huge screen was set up in the field. The service even came with a concession stand.

The movies playing didn’t appeal to me. I wasn’t into superheroes. So that’s how I ended up in the resort recreation room, surrounded by babies and mom conversation.

Neither of which I was comfortable with.

A little monster with a runny nose tugged on my pant leg. “Me thirsty,” he said, staring up at me with the bluest eyes I’d ever seen. “Want milk.”

“Uh,” I mumbled, glancing around the room. I had no idea who he belonged to. “I don’t have any milk. Where’s your mommy?”

“Milk,” he said, holding his arms up.

One of the younger women approached, scooping up the toddler. “I’m so sorry, Vada,” she gushed. “I’m Ivy. I don’t believe we’ve officially met.”

“Your son is thirsty,” I said. “He seems to think I have some milk.”

“Sorry,” she chuckled. “He’s still breastfeeding, and he thinks he can drink from any breast he sees.”

“Oh,” I said, my cheeks heating.

“Best put those away,” Tilly suggested. “There’s lots of hungry little mouths in here.”

I glanced down at my V-neck T-shirt. Perhaps I ~was~ displaying a bit too much cleavage for this gathering.

“How’s Garrett doing?” Glory asked.

“He seems fine.”

“That’s good. Garrett is a sweetheart.”

“He sure is,” I agreed.

“Whose baby are you having first?” Cassie asked.

“Um, I don’t know,” I laughed. “I haven’t accepted their marriage proposal yet.”

“But you will,” Valerie said. “So who gets to knock you up first?”

“They’re going from oldest to youngest,” I explained. “Evan is the oldest.”

“It’s hard on the other guys when you’re trying,” Cassie said. “Especially if it takes a while to get pregnant.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well, you can only have sex with the husband who is on fertilization duty. Or that’s how we do it. We could use condoms, I suppose. But who wants to do that?

“I have an irregular cycle, so it’s hard to track my fertile days. With all four of my kids we just did it multiple times a day, and I got pregnant on the first try every time.”

“That was lucky,” I said.

“It’s never that easy for me,” Tilly sighed, rubbing her belly. “It took six months to get this one in the oven.”

“We take a different approach,” Valerie shared. “My guys take turns. Every month a different one tries. Whoever gets one past the goalie first gets to be a dad.

“For the first three, the dad who already had a kid had to sit out the next time around. But once all three had a kid, it was game on.”

“How many kids do you have?”

“Seven.”

“Jeepers,” I muttered.

“Lee fathered four of them, so I guess he has the best swimmers,” she laughed. “Cam fathered two, and Matt has one. So, Matt gets to father number eight.”

“You’re going to have ~another~ one?” I blurted out.

“Yeah. But then we’re done. And not until after the cruise.”

“How many are you going to have, Vada?” Ivy asked as she plunked down next to me and whipped out her enormous tit.

“Whoa,” I laughed, covering my eyes.

“You’re so cute,” Valerie chuckled.

“I’m just not used to being around people with kids,” I explained. “I’ve never even held a baby.”

“You’ve never held a baby?!” Tilly shrieked.

“No. None of my friends have kids. And I’m an only child.”

“Someone get this girl a baby,” Glory ordered.

“Oh no,” I protested.

“Make sure you support the head,” Tilly instructed as she placed a baby in my arms. It wasn’t even her baby. A woman named Amanda volunteered her kid for my lesson.

I stared down at the thing in my arms.

~It’s not a thing, girl. It’s a human being.~

“Relax,” Glory said. “You’re doing great.”

“She’s so warm,” I whispered. “And she smells good.”

“You can cuddle her against your chest,” Amanda suggested. “She likes that.”

“Oh. Okay. How do I do that?”

Glory helped me reposition the baby so her head was buried right between my boobs. “Someone get a picture,” she said. “Her men will want to see this.”

“You’re a natural,” Ivy whispered.

“I don’t know about that.”

“Are you doing another water birth this time, Tilly?” Valerie asked.

“Absolutely,” she said. “I have a midwife and a doula. And we still have the pool from last time.”

“You should absolutely get a doula, Vada,” Ivy said, transferring her toddler to her other breast.

“What’s a doula?”

“A birth support specialist,” Tilly explained.

“Oh.”

“My little sister just had her first baby,” Valerie shared. “And she pooped everywhere.

“I’m not talking about a few turds while she was pushing, either. She lost complete control of her bowels. My nephew was born covered in poo.”

“That happened to me with Brady,” Glory laughed. “I was nineteen. And I was ~mortified~.”

“I can top that,” Cassie said. “Daryl was going down on me when I lost my mucous plug. I think I was pregnant with Finn. No. Wait. It was Fiona.”

“What is a mucous plug?” I asked.

“It’s like a giant booger that comes out of your vag right before you go into labor,” she explained.

“That sounds lovely,” I mumbled.

“Pregnancy is a trip,” Valerie said. “I love being pregnant.”

“Clearly,” I laughed.

“What’s not to love? I’m a stay-at-home mother. Lee works from home. We have a nanny and a cleaning lady. I can take a nap whenever I feel like it.

“I don’t have to chase my kids around when I’m nine months pregnant. I can eat whatever I want. The sex is amazing. And when it’s go time, my babies slide right out.”

“Not every woman has it that easy,” Amanda said.

“I’m a high school teacher. It’s pretty embarrassing when you’re nine months pregnant and you accidentally fart in front of a room full of teenagers, and then you burst out crying.”

“And most babies don’t ~slide right out~,” Cassie snorted. “Especially the first one.

“My first trip to the delivery room was a horror show. Kyle was ten pounds, and he got stuck. They had to cut me, and Daryl passed out.”

“Cut you?” I gasped.

“Yep, sweetie. It’s called an episiotomy. Your pussy is never the same after that. And the first time you try to have a poop afterwards? Not pleasant.”

“I remember taking a shower at the hospital after my first delivery,” Glory said. “I was so weak, and Jim came into the bathroom with me. He was traumatized by the amount of blood coming out of me.”

“Evan wouldn’t be able to handle that,” I laughed. “He has a period phobia.”

“A what now?” Ivy asked.

“He doesn’t like it when people talk about periods. It freaks him out.”

“But he’s going in the delivery room?” Valerie asked. “There’s blood everywhere. And when you’re trying to get pregnant, that’s all anyone talks about. What’s he gonna do if he has a daughter?”

“I’m not sure,” I said.

I glanced down at the baby on my chest, my arms wrapped around her while she slept peacefully against my breasts.

~Give the baby back to her mother.~

~They don’t always smell this good.~

~And they don’t sleep all the time.~

~You don’t want one of these.~

~Your mind is playing tricks on you.~

***

I curled up on the sofa with a glass of wine. The guys weren’t back from the movie night yet. It was kind of nice to have a little alone time.

I glanced at my phone. Mandy had texted me while I was at the rec hall. I decided I’d better respond.

Vada

Hey, Mandy.

Mandy

Hey.

Vada

What’s up?

Mandy

Do I need a reason to text my best friend now?

Vada

No.

Mandy

How come it took you so long to answer?

Vada

I was busy.

Mandy

Fucking?

Vada

No, actually. LOL. You won’t believe me when I tell you.

Mandy

What were you doing?

Vada

Holding a baby and listening to women discuss their pregnancies and births. Did you know you pass a giant hunk of snot called a mucous plug?

Vada

And it’s not uncommon to shit while you’re giving birth? And sometimes they have to cut your bird with a scalpel! Ouch!

Mandy

LOL. I bet you’re glad you never have to go through all that.

Vada

This is gonna sound crazy, but I wasn’t as horrified as I should’ve been. Because I kind of liked having a baby in my arms.

Vada

It was like the second they handed her to me, I experienced this surge of maternal hormones or something.

Mandy

We’re gonna adopt. You can have the baby without ruining your body. Your pussy is so beautiful and tight. Why would you want to destroy it?

Vada

I don’t know. I’m in a weird mood tonight. My mind is all over the place.

Mandy

Don’t do anything stupid, Vada. Come home. They’re trying to brainwash you. That’s why they took you up to the mountains to their cult thing.

Vada

They’re not in a cult.

Mandy

We had an agreement, Vada. You promised.

Vada

I was sixteen, Mandy.

Mandy

If you really want to get pregnant, we can do it that way. You can get artificial insemination. It would be a lot quicker than adopting.

Vada

I’m really confused right now.

Mandy

I knew it. You want to marry them.

Vada

I honestly don’t know what I want.

Mandy

I can’t believe this, Vada.

Vada

Me either.

Mandy

I knew this trip was a bad idea. You need to get away from them, so you can think clearly. Then you’ll realize you don’t really want to be a baby factory for three men.

Mandy

That’s all they want you for. They’re using you. Can’t you see that?

Vada

I’m in love with them.

Mandy

OMG. You just think you are, because you’ve been with them night and day for weeks.

Vada

I don’t think so, Mandy.

Mandy

How could you do this to me, Vada?

Vada

I didn’t do anything.

Mandy

You promised.

Vada

I was sixteen.

Mandy

You promised before you left three weeks ago.

Vada

I like men.

Mandy

You can have sex with guys. I don’t care, as long as you don’t marry them. We’re supposed to live together forever. As a family.

Vada

We can still be best friends if we don’t live together.

Mandy

Will your husbands let you have a sexual relationship with me?

Vada

No.

Mandy

Didn’t think so. Because they want to control you.

Vada

No, they don’t.

Mandy

I disagree.

Vada

I have a chance at having a real family. I have three guys who want to marry me. Three nice guys, who treat me like a queen. Why can’t you be happy for me?

Mandy

I guess I’m a selfish cunt.

Vada

No, you’re not.

Mandy

Yes, I am. I can never have that. So I don’t want you to have it either.

Vada

You know what, Mandy?

Mandy

What?

Vada

You’re right. You are a selfish cunt.

I blocked her before tossing my phone on the sofa.

Why couldn’t she be happy for me?

Did she really want me to stay with her out of some misguided obligation?

I refilled my wine glass and tossed it back while I bawled my eyes out.

~Get a grip.~

~Enough with the tears.~

~Crying is for pussies.~

~What the fuck is wrong with you?~

The guys returned in the middle of my sobfest. I was a hot mess of snot and puffy eyes, with red wine spilled down the front of my shirt. They didn’t ask what was wrong. Didn’t say a word.

Jake went into the bathroom and returned with a face cloth. Garrett brought my comfy Patrick pajamas. The three of them worked together in silence, undressing me and cleaning me up.

“Thanks,” I whispered.

Jake and Garrett sat down on the sofa, lifting me so I was sitting on both of their laps. Evan knelt in front of me on the floor, massaging my bare feet and calves.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Jake asked gently.

“I might start crying again,” I warned.

“That’s okay,” Evan said.

“I had a fight with Mandy.”

Evan’s fingers paused, his body going rigid at the mention of her name. “About what?” he asked gruffly.

“I told her something I shouldn’t have. It was really insensitive of me. But I wasn’t thinking straight.”

“The bottle of wine you downed probably had something to do with that,” Evan muttered.

“What did you tell her?” Garrett asked.

“I told her that I held a baby, and listened to women share horror stories about pregnancy and childbirth.”

“Why did that cause a fight?” Jake asked, rubbing my back in slow circles.

I stared across the room through my puffy eyes, my mind a scattered mess as I tried to make sense of my feelings.

The windows were all closed. It was a chilly night. I couldn’t hear the crickets or the waves lapping against the dock. Just the owls. They were loud enough to penetrate the cottage walls.

And I could hear the breathing of three men while they waited for my answer. I wasn’t ready to accept their proposal. But if I told them what I fought about with Mandy, they would get their hopes up.

“I don’t want to hurt you guys,” I said quietly. “I haven’t made my decision yet. But I told Mandy I was in love with you three.

“And I experienced some pretty strong maternal yearnings when I held that baby.”

Three sets of eyes blinked back tears.

Three mouths broke out in wide grins.

“I didn’t say yes yet.”

“But you’re going to,” Evan declared confidently.

“If Mandy was a true friend, she would be happy for you,” Garrett said.

“It sounds like you had a casual arrangement. I don’t think she can hold you to a promise you guys made as teenagers. You were young girls exploring your sexuality.”

“There’s a lot more to it than that,” I said sadly. “When Mandy was sixteen, she got pregnant. She was so excited. I know that sounds crazy, but she grew up in foster care.

“She had no family, and she wanted to be a mother. The guy who knocked her up didn’t want anything to do with it. But she didn’t care.”

“I promised to help her as much as I could. Dad said she could stay with us until she finished school and got a job. He didn’t know about our relationship back then.”

“Mandy has a kid?” Evan gasped.

“No.”

“What happened to the baby?” Garrett asked.

“Mandy was on her way to a doctor’s appointment. She was walking down the street when a car jumped the curb and hit her.”

“I remember that day,” Evan said. “It was an elderly man. He had a heart attack. I knew Mandy was one of the people hit, but I wasn’t aware she was pregnant.”

“Yeah,” I said with a heavy sigh. “She lost the baby.”

“I know this sounds harsh,” Evan said gently. “But that was probably for the best. She would’ve struggled to support a baby on her own.”

“Probably,” I agreed. “But she was bleeding heavily, and they had to take out her uterus to save her life.”

“Oh no,” Garrett whispered. “How sad.”

“Yeah,” I sighed. “She was devastated. I promised her that we’d have a family together someday. We’d adopt, or I’d get artificial insemination, and she’d get to be a mother.”

“You were sixteen,” Jake said. “She had to realize you might meet a man someday and decide to have kids with him.”

“Or them,” Evan added.

“How did the conversation end?” Garrett asked.

“She admitted she was a selfish cunt, and I agreed with her.”

“Give it a few days,” Jake suggested. “Then reach out to her.”

“She is being selfish though,” Evan said. “You weren’t in a committed relationship. If she truly cares for you, she’ll let you go and be happy for you.”

“What can we do to make you feel better?” Garrett asked.

“Snuggle with me while I sleep.”

“We can do that,” Jake agreed.

“I thought for sure you were gonna say anal sex,” Evan teased.

“Nah,” I said with a sleepy yawn. “I’m too tired tonight. I wish there was a way we could all sleep together.”

“There is,” Jake said.

They dragged the mattresses from the double bed and the bunk beds out into the living room. I crawled into the middle and cuddled up with my harem, nodding off to sleep with babies dancing in my head.